Planner hopes to help Tuscarawas improve access to local food

When Jason Geissinger opened Bistro 131 in New Philadelphia, his hope was to entice the residents of Tuscarawas County with healthy food, grown and raised locally.

By Meghan Millea

Times Reporter

By Meghan Millea

Posted Jan. 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 25, 2013 at 5:52 PM

By Meghan Millea

Posted Jan. 25, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Jan 25, 2013 at 5:52 PM

NEW PHILADELPHIA

When Jason Geissinger opened Bistro 131 in New Philadelphia, his hope was to entice the residents of Tuscarawas County with healthy food, grown and raised locally.

“We would really like to see a huge portion of our menu tout and say — everything on our menu is local,” he said. “That’s the vision of this restaurant. We haven’t accomplished that yet.”

Geissinger said that’s because he’s had difficulty accessing a steady and consistent supply of local meat and produce, despite agriculture being listed as one of the county’s top industries.

“I’m shocked we’re a farming community and we don’t enjoy our own products and sell them elsewhere and don’t produce for ourselves,” he said.

But there may be some changes in the near future. Geissinger said Thursday he was excited to learn about the possibility of community and government leaders creating a local food assessment plan, which would address ways to increase local food supply and demand.

The plan would cover agriculture as part of economic development, the impact of local food on public health, and how to make local food accessible and cost effective for producers, distributors and, ultimately, the consumers.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea,” he said. “I guess most things are cost driven. Can the farmers produce it? Can they sell it and survive? Can the restaurant sell it and survive? It’ll take everybody working together.”

Those are all issues Brian Williams plans to address. Williams is an agriculture specialist with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission in Columbus. He received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency that allowed him to work with different communities to develop and expand the role of agriculture economics in the region.

Recently, Williams approached Tuscarawas County Commissioner Belle Everett about the possibility of creating a local food assessment plan.

He offered to complete a free presentation on how Tuscarawas County could create a plan specific to the needs of the community. Everett mentioned creating a panel that would meet and discuss the options nest month.

“Basically, the idea is that when farmers are profitable, that’s good for the community and it keeps land in agriculture,” Williams said.

He said there’s both an economic aspect and health aspect to buying local food. “(People) eat healthier meals as opposed to frozen heavily processed things,” he said. “It generally improves the diet.”

EMPHASIS ON LOCAL

The concentration of local food distribution is nothing new. In fact, it can be seen to some degree in most schools. Last August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture school-wellness mandate stipulated that not only are children to eat more leafy greens and fresh food, but that schools purchase their products locally.

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If a local food access plan were in place, it could extend local food purchase beyond schools to hospitals, universities and other major entities in addition to grocery stores and restaurants.

That’s a change Barbara Burns would like to see. Burns is the chair of the Healthy Tusc Taskforce, an organization aimed at improving the health of community residents through exercise and access to healthy food. She said one of the largest health issues in Tuscarawas County is obesity given that 32.4 percent of adults and 35 percent of third grade children are obese.

“If we could get something like this drawn up in Tuscarawas County that would be amazing,” Burns said.

Fresh and healthy food is only one major component of the potential plan. Williams said he would want to see the county develop an efficient distribution system that would save energy and money.

He said it would take a coordination of land use planners and economic developers, as well as several individuals in the community, especially the business community. He has seen it work. For example, Williams said Fairfield County recently adopted an agricultural economic development plan, and the community has already adopted some changes. He said the hospital is now serving many products that are exclusively grown in the area, and there are more local meat distributors.

He said the planning would begin by identifying the strengths and barriers in the area. “What kind of agriculture do we have? What do you think are the opportunities? Come up with a plan,” he said.

The Farm Bureau of Tuscarawas, Carroll, Jefferson and Harrison counties could have a large role to play in answering those questions.

As organizational director for the Farm Bureau, Michelle Specht is aware of what local farmers are capable of producing. Top of the list is dairy, as Tuscarawas County is among the top 10 dairy producers in the state.

“Farmers do a great job,” she said. “They take advantage of the help that’s out there, the marketing and advertising.”

The area farmers may not be aware of all the opportunities to sell locally, she said.

“Anything you can keep local is wonderful,” Specht said.

PROMISING FUTURE

Mark McKenzie, the chair of the Tuscarawas Valley Farmers Market, can identify some of the barriers involved. McKenzie works with the small producers, who grow the fruit and vegetables, and free range beef, pork and poultry, favorable to local restaurants and grocery stores, but not easily accessible.

McKenzie said there aren’t really any distribution centers that accommodate small farms. He said they’re primarily geared toward the large farms who sell corn, grains and dairy.

One question he said that should be addressed is, “What can we do to unburden the grower without increasing cost of minimal increase of cost to get that product to the consumer?”

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Echoing Geissinger’s sentiments, McKenzie said it can often be cost prohibitive.

He said there are 20 to 25 vendors at the farmer’s market, and a large number of people on a waiting list to sell their products. He said there’s a slow and growing awareness of the benefits of eating locally grown food.

“We haven’t even come close to touching the potential or the promise of what our area could produce in the way of fruits and vegetables and free range,” McKenzie said.

Williams would like to see Tuscarawas County get closer to its producing potential, and looks forward to sharing his insight with the community.

“I’ll give them the framework,” he said. “And hopefully they’ll build it out.”